1976–77 Western Football League

Western Football League
Season1976–77
ChampionsFalmouth Town (Premier Division)
Saltash United (Division One)

The 1976–77 season was the 75th in the history of the Western Football League. The league was split into two divisions for the first time since 1959–60.

The league champions for the third time in their history, and the third season in succession, were Falmouth Town. The champions of the new Division One were newcomers Saltash United.[1]

This season was the last in which goal average decided places for teams which were level on points.[1]

Final tables

Premier Division

The new Premier Division was created from the top eighteen clubs in the old single division of the previous season.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Relegation
1 Falmouth Town 34 26 2 6 69 24 2.875 80
2 Weston-super-Mare 34 18 12 4 57 31 1.839 66
3 Clevedon 34 18 10 6 58 31 1.871 64
4 Bridgwater Town 34 17 10 7 51 36 1.417 61
5 Barnstaple Town 34 16 9 9 64 48 1.333 57
6 Bideford 34 15 11 8 70 38 1.842 56
7 Bridport 34 16 8 10 53 35 1.514 56
8 Paulton Rovers 34 13 10 11 52 46 1.130 49
9 Taunton Town 34 14 6 14 49 46 1.065 48 Joined the Southern League
10 Dawlish 34 11 10 13 36 41 0.878 43
11 Glastonbury 34 11 8 15 56 58 0.966 41
12 Frome Town 34 10 11 13 45 52 0.865 41
13 Tiverton Town 34 11 7 16 35 61 0.574 40
14 Welton Rovers 34 9 9 16 35 46 0.761 36
15 Mangotsfield United 34 10 4 20 36 66 0.545 34
16 St Luke's College 34 7 6 21 32 61 0.525 27
17 Exeter City Reserves 34 7 3 24 36 76 0.474 23[a]
18 Westland-Yeovil (R) 34 4 10 20 31 69 0.449 22 Relegated to Division One
Source: [citation needed]
(R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Exeter City Reserves had one point deducted for fielding an ineligible player.

First Division

The new First Division consisted of the bottom five clubs from the previous season, plus thirteen new clubs:

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Promotion
1 Saltash United (P) 34 24 6 4 81 29 2.793 78 Promoted to the Premier Division
2 Shepton Mallet Town (P) 34 23 7 4 84 39 2.154 76
3 Keynsham Town 34 23 2 9 87 38 2.289 71
4 Melksham Town 34 20 7 7 69 36 1.917 67
5 Chippenham Town 34 17 6 11 53 43 1.233 57
6 Devizes Town 34 15 8 11 58 44 1.318 52[a]
7 Torquay United Reserves 34 15 3 16 61 59 1.034 48
8 Portway Bristol 34 13 9 12 57 58 0.983 48
9 Larkhall Athletic 34 13 7 14 59 69 0.855 46
10 Clandown 34 10 12 12 54 58 0.931 42
11 Yeovil Town Reserves 34 11 7 16 52 55 0.945 40
12 Brixham United 34 9 8 17 45 77 0.584 35
13 Ottery St Mary 34 8 10 16 41 61 0.672 34
14 Exmouth Town 34 9 7 18 40 68 0.588 34
15 Chard Town 34 8 9 17 43 63 0.683 33
16 Swanage Town & Herston 34 8 9 17 48 72 0.667 33
17 Ilminster Town 34 8 9 17 39 69 0.565 33
18 Heavitree United 34 4 10 20 23 56 0.411 22
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up to and including the 1976–77 season. The points system: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
(P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ Devizes Town had one point deducted for fielding an ineligible player.

References

  1. ^ a b Robinson, Michael (ed.), Non-League Football Tables 1889–2006, Soccer Books, 2006